Your co-workers’ genders and profession affect your divorce risk

Stockholm University researchers who worked on a Sept. 25 Biology Letters study set out to gain a better understanding of work factors that may make spouses more likely to divorce. In particular, they wanted to know whether workers who have a lot of colleagues of the opposite sex are more apt to end their marriages than others. They found that this is one of the many factors that contribute to increased divorce rates.

The researchers analyzed 30 years worth of data from Denmark to see whether a connection between divorce rates and the gender of co-workers appeared to exist. After reviewing nearly 250,000 divorce cases, they determined that there’s a strong connection between the two.

They found that men who worked in male-dominated industries, including construction, tended to get divorced far less than women who worked in them. They also determined that the divorce rates among men significantly increased the more women worked alongside them.

Researchers determined that individuals of both genders who worked in the service industry, such as in restaurants or hotels, had the highest divorce rates. Those who worked as librarians or farmers had the lowest ones.

They also found that the more educated a man was, the more at-risk he and his spouse were for getting divorced, especially if he worked in a female-dominated field. The opposite held true for women.

When asked to comment about the Stockholm University researchers’ findings, a Northwestern University professor noted that this study was the first of its kind to involve such a large sample.

He also noted that the researchers’ findings were consistent with previous conclusions that researchers have made. He emphasized that a more qualitative study may better reveal why individuals in certain professions are less likely to divorce than others and how gender figures in to all of that.

When spouses decide to get divorced after having been married for some time, it can be difficult to distinguish between what is individual or marital property. One of you may have been primarily responsible for handling the household finances and have left the other completely in the dark about monthly expenses. This may make it where you have no idea what costs to expect for you to live on your own.